Gems on a Star. The Latvian National Opera and Ballet Continues Its Online Programme with Brilliant Concert Performances
In March, the Latvian National Opera and Ballet will offer recordings of concert performances of three Italian operas, interpreted by outstanding soloists and conductors, as part of its online programme “Gems and Stars”. Starting on 5 March, viewers will be able to watch a concert production of Vincenzo Bellini’s opera “Norma”; from 12 March, a concert performance of Giuseppe Verdi’s opera “Ernani”; and from 19 March, a concert performance of Giacomo Puccini’s opera “La rondine”. All recordings will be available until 31 March with Latvian subtitles.
The one-off nature of concert performances makes it possible to fulfil the boldest dreams. It is an opportunity to perform rarely staged masterpieces on the stage of the Latvian National Opera, allowing Latvian audiences to enjoy interpretations by outstanding Latvian and international conductors and soloists.
Vincenzo Bellini’s “Norma”, written in 1831, is one of the most beautiful bel canto operas and an outstanding example of its genre. Norma’s cavatina “Casta Diva” from Act One is particularly well known. On 14 April 2017, opera star Marina Rebeka sang the title role for the first time in Latvia in a concert performance of this opera by Vincenzo Bellini. The role of Pollione was performed by Latvia’s most celebrated tenor, Aleksandrs Antoņenko; Oroveso by the world-famous Estonian bass Ain Anger; and Adalgisa by the German mezzo-soprano Dshamilja Kaiser. Laura Grecka interpreted the role of Clotilde, and Mihails Čuļpajevs that of Flavio. The concert performance’s musical director was the Italian maestro Gaetano D’Espinosa. The video recording was directed by Edmunds Mickus.
“This dramatically charged bel canto opera reading, performed by the orchestra and chorus and complemented by the soloists’ individual mastery, appears to mark one of the season’s most brilliant musical events. This is especially true of the enviable harmony between Marina Rebeka and Dshamilja Kaiser. The most popular hit from “Norma”, “Casta Diva”, is performed at an unusually slow tempo, while at the same time demonstrating Marina Rebeka’s exceptional vocal mastery,” wrote Lauma Mellēna-Bartkeviča in her assessment of the concert performance (Kroders.lv, 19 April 2017).
Giuseppe Verdi drew inspiration for the opera “Ernani” from a play by Victor Hugo—a fascinating story about three men who love the same woman. “Ernani” is rarely staged because of its vocal complexity. On 14 January 2018, the concert performance of Giuseppe Verdi’s opera “Ernani” at the Latvian National Opera brought together a veritable constellation of stars. The world-famous conductor Daniel Oren, one of the world’s finest interpreters of Verdi’s music, took the podium of the Latvian National Opera Orchestra. The leading roles were performed by opera stars Dinara Aliev, Andreas Bauer Kanabas, Franco Vasallo and Luc Robert, whose voices are heard in the world’s leading opera houses. The international star cast was joined by the excellent soloists of the Latvian National Opera, Ilona Bagele, Raimonds Bramanis and Rihards Mačanovskis, as well as the Latvian National Opera Chorus. The concert performance was directed by Dace Volfarte, with sets by Andris Freibergs; the video recording was directed by Edmunds Mickus.
“The renowned Israeli conductor Daniel Oren, one of the world’s most widely recognised interpreters of Verdi’s music, together with a team of star soloists, transformed this production into such a brilliant, professionally outstanding and emotionally rich artistic event that it is difficult to find anything comparable,” Inese Lūsiņa wrote in her review of the concert performance of “Ernani” (Kultūras Diena, 19 January 2018).
Giacomo Puccini’s opera “La rondine”, with a libretto by Giuseppe Adami, is a bittersweet story about Magda, a Parisian courtesan and metaphorical swallow, who briefly enters the world of true love and romance before returning to her old “nest” as the mistress of a wealthy banker. The opera was completed in 1916 on commission from Vienna’s Carltheater, but its premiere took place in Monte Carlo a year later. In the Latvian National Opera’s concert performance on 7 December 2018, Dinara Aliev interpreted Magda’s vocal part, which is a serious challenge for a soprano voice. Magda’s beloved Ruggero was performed by the outstanding American tenor of the younger generation, John Irvin. The role of the poet Prunier was performed by the Belarusian tenor and Graz Opera soloist Pavel Petrov. Other roles were performed by Latvian National Opera soloists Inga Šļubovska-Kancēviča, Krišjānis Norvelis, Marlēna Keine, Jūlija Vasiļjeva, Laura Grecka and others. Jānis Liepiņš conducted the Latvian National Opera Orchestra; the concert production was directed by Dace Volfarte, with sets by Andris Freibergs, while the video recording was directed by Juris Sējāns.
“The operetta-like character of the orchestration distinguishes this Puccini opus stylistically from his others, and although the mood is more carefree than in Puccini’s dramatic operas, this does not lessen the high demands placed on the soloists, who handled their tasks superbly,” Lauma Mellēna-Bartkeviča writes in her review (Kroders.lv, 29 December 2018).
Tickets are available on the Biļešu paradīze website. The price is EUR 7 for one event and EUR 17 for all three. Each recording can be watched an unlimited number of times worldwide during the period specified in the user’s profile.
Until 28 February, a themed selection of recordings of Latvian National Opera and Ballet performances is also available: Giacomo Puccini’s opera “Manon Lescaut”, Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s ballet “The Enchanted Princess” and Georges Bizet’s opera “Carmen”.
Prepared by:
Head of Public Relations at the Latvian National Opera and Ballet
